Tank heater



March 26, 1935.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TANK incarna william n. Hartung, nos Moines, Iowa Application February 9, 1931, Serial No. 514,526 6 claims. (ci. 126-360) The object of my invention is to provide a The upper surface of the member 10 is provided simple, durable and inexpensive tank heater. with openings 13, the upper surface of the mem# which is particularly adapted to be formed o f cast ber 10 being provided with a boss 14 formed iron, and having a minimum number of packing around the edge of said openings and designed to 5 joints. support a vertically arranged tubular member 15, 5

- A further object is to provide a tank heater the lower endlof the member having a flange having a heat radiating member adapted to be 16 which is secured to the boss 14 by means 0f supported in a submerged position and having a bolts 1'?. A packing strip 18 is inserted between single vertically arranged pipe having its lower the members 14 and 16. y

l0 end communicating with the interior vof said The tubular member 15 is elongated in cross 10 heating element and its upper end projecting section, as clearly illustrated in Figure 2, the sides above Athe water level, and to provide means of the member 15 being provided With inWelCllY whereby one portion of said pipe may be utilized projecting lugs 19 arranged in such manner as as an intake and the other portion as an outlet to support the vertically arranged partition plate l5 for said vheating element, whereby a single pack- 20, the lOWel end 0f the Plate 20 terminating in 1,5 ing may be employed both forinlet and outlet the bottom edge of the passage 11, and its upper passages, end terminating in the .top edge of the member A further. object is to provide in a, tank heater 15. The IOWer end Of the partition 2O iS provided of that type having a horizontally supported heat- With an Opening 21- ing chamber designed to be totally submerged Slidably mounted adjacent to the frontface 20 and having inlet and outlet passages projecting 0f the partten 20 iey e demper plate 22 having upwardly above ,the water level and provided its 10We1 end designed t0 prOjeCl'f dOWnWaI'dlY with on oil burner, vimproved means fo'r creating into the passage 11. The partition 20provides v an initial draft in the outlet pipe, whereby heated means for dividing the tube 15 into an inlet pas-v 25 gases may be made to travel through the hori- 'Sage 23 and an Outlet passage 24. The'dalnper 22 25 zontally arranged heating element, Acloses'the passage 11 so that one end communi- A further object is to provide in a tank heate 'Cates with the passage 23 and the opposite end of that type designed to employ .an oil burner, With the passage 24, in the manner Clearly illusimproved means for supporting the supply tank 'Creteil ln Figure 3,501'11211 air moving downwardly so and for ieeding'oil to said burner. through the passage 23 must travel throughout 30 A further object is to provide in a tank heater the entire length 0f the passage 11 and be finally having a vertically arranged inlet pipe, improved delivered t0 the passage 24. means for covering the pipe to prevent rain and The damper 22 iS prvlded with en Opening 25. dirt from entering the same. which is adapted to align with thevopening 21 .This inventionv consists inthe construction, ar- When Seid demper 1S in an elevated DOStlOn- 35 rangement and combination of the various parts The upper end 0f the damper 22,15 plOVided With of the device, whereby the objects contemplated an inwardly projecting flange 26 designed t0 SUP- are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, port the 10Wer en'd 0f the vertical 10d 27, the pointed outin my claims, and illustrated in the upper end of which terminates in a horizontal 40 accompanying drawing, in which; handle portion 28, the said member 27 being slid- 40 1 Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved tank ably mounted in the Cep Casting 29, Said Casting heater, being designed to :llt on the upper end of the tu- Figure 2 is a detail sectional view, taken on th bular member 15 and provided withan upwardly line 2--2 of Figure 1. projecting thimble 30 designed to receive the Figure 3 is a detail sectional view, taken on lower end of a tubular stack 31. ,45 the line 3-3 of Figure 1, and The member 29 is also provided with laterally Figure 4 is a detail sectional view, taken on the projecting lugs 32 to which a cover 3311s pivline 4-4 of Figure 3. tally connected, said cover having one side pro- Referring to the accompanying drawing, I have jectlng beyond one side of the casting '29, in the used the reference numeral 1o to indicate the manner clearly illustrated in Figure 4, so that 50 heating element, which 'is preferably of annuan air passage 34 is'formed between the lower lar formation having a continuous passage 11 for edge oi' one side of said cover and the upper edge conducting heated gases, legs 12 being provided of thecap member 29, communicating with the for supporting the heating element 10 a slight upper end of the inlet passage 23. distance above the tank bottom. One sldeoi the cap member 29 isprovided with 55 a flange 35 to which one end of a semi-cylindrical plate 36 is fastened, the opposite end of said plate 36 being supported by a brace 37, the lower end of which is connected to a lug 38 projecting outwardly from the tube 15. The flange 35 is designed to support an annular member 39 designed upper end of a funnel-shaped member 43 mounted on the upper end of the tube 44, said tube 44 having its lower end connected to a burner 45, said burner being mounted in the inlet end of the passage 11 and beneath the lower end of the inlet pipe 23. The burner 45 is provided with a slot 46 through which the gas from the burner is discharged, combustion taking place immediately around the body of the burner and beneath the lower end of the inlet pipe 23, so that heated gases from said burner will be drawn through the passage 11 in a counter-clockwise direction, as illustrated in Figure 2, and iinally discharged through the passage 24. The details of my burner 45 constitute the subject matter of my copending application, Serial Number 514,527, filed February 9, 1931 now Patent No. 1,965,835, issued July 10, 1934.

In all types of tank heaters in which the heating element is submerged beneath the water and in which are provided vertical inlet and outlet pipes, great difficulty exists in getting the burner started, due to the fact that any heated air from the burner has a tendency to rise in the inlet pipe rather than to pass horizontally through the long passage of the heating element and out through the stack. To overcome this difficulty the damper 22 has been provided and is so arranged that at the time the burner 45 is being lit the said damper plate is elevated, which will then permit the heated gases from the burner to rise upwardly through the passage 24 and will thereby create a draft in the stack.

As soonas the gases within the stack have become heated, then the damper is moved to its closed position and the heavy air of the inlet pipe will cause the light air of the discharge pipe to be elevated and the draft will be created through the heating element.

To further assist in heating the air of the stack the openings 21 and 25 are provided, which are in augment at the time the damper is in its elevated position.

In lighting the burner 45 the operator usually inserts, by means of a wire, a piece of waste or cotton which has been saturated with oil and ignited, and then lowers it into the inlet pasi sage 2s. This ignited ngnter is inserted through the openings 25 and 21 into the passage 24, causing the air therein to become heated before atltempting to start the burner. By this arrange- 'I'he burner 45 may be of any type particularly adapted to operate in position at`the lower end of the inlet pipe 23, and. which is provided with a supply tube 44. For that reason the detailed construction of the burner is not described or illustrated, and forms no part of my present invention.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided a tank heater of simple construction which may be easily formed Vof cast iron and provided with means whereby a single packing is utilized to communicate the burner element with the vertically arranged inlet pipe 23, and at the-same time provided a heating element so constructed as not to easily warp or become leaky due to uneven expansion.

Furthermore I have provided a heater which when provided with the proper burner has means whereby the burner may be easily and quickly started, and means whereby the device is comparatively safe, due to the fact that back iiring of the burner is eliminated on account oi!l the draft being created in the stack before the burner is ignited and before fuel is supplied thereto.

It will further be seen that I have provided improved means for covering the inlet pipe to ex-4 clude Water and dirt, and further improved means for supporting the fuel tank in such a manner that the tank may be easily and quickly removed for iilling, if so desired.

I claim as my invention: l. A tank heater comprising an annular4 heating element having an annular passage therein,

an inlet opening and an outlet opening, saidY plate having an opening designed to align with the opening in said partition when the damper is raised to its open position, a burner mounted in the iirst passage and adjacent to said damper when closed and beneath said inlet passage, and

means for feeding fuel to said burner.

2. A tank heater comprising a horizontal heating element having an annular passage for circulating heated gases and provided with adjacent and vertically arranged inlet and outlet openings in its upper surface,a damper supported transversely in said annular passage for communicating one end of said annular passage with said inletopening and itsopposite end with said outlet opening, said damper being adapted to move to an open position communicating the lower end of said inlet opening' directly with .the lower end of said outlet opening, a burner beneath the lower end of said inlet opening adjacent to said damper when in a closed position, means forming inlet and outlet passages communicating with said inlet and outlet openings, respectively, an opening communicating said inlet and outlet passages above said damper and above said burner,` through which a torch maybe inserted through the inlet passage into the inner end of said outlet passage to create a premature draft in the outlet passage, whereby said draft will first be moved downwardly over said burner into said outlet p when the is opened and then'zs through said annular passage when the damper is closed, and means i'or closing the last said open- 3. A tank heater comprising a hollow annular body member adapted to be supported horizontally and provided with adjacent inlet and outlet openings, a tubular member having one end communicating with both of said openings, a burner within said body and beneath said inlet opening, a partition mounted longitudinally through said tubular member for dividing it into inlet and outlet passages and communicating with the respective openings of said body member, a'damper in said body between the inlet and outlet openings, said partition having a by-pass opening above said damper through which al torch may be inserted through the inlet passage into the inner end of said outlet passage to create a premature draft in the outlet passage, whereby said draft will-first be moved downwardly over said burner into said outlet passage when the damper is opened and then through said annular body when the damper is closed said damper being shaped to close said hyp-pass opening when the damper is in its said closed position.

4. A tank heater comprising a body portion provided with a lower portion having a horizontal circuitous passageway and an upper portion having adjacent inlet and outlet passageways communicating with said circuitous passageway at their lower ends, a damper supported transversely-in said passageway for preventing direct communication of the lower ends o! said inlet and outlet passageways when the damper 'is closed, and tor permitting direct communication between their lower ends when the damper is opened, aburner in the inlet end of said circuitous passageway adjacent to said damper and slightly belowthe lower end of said inlet passage- A way, the upper portion of said body having an opening communicating with said inlet and outlet passageways near their lower ends and above said burner, said damper being shaped to close the last said opening when in its said closed position, for the purposes stated.

5. A tank heater comprising a heating element formed with a circuitous passageway through which products of combustion may be passed for heating purposes, an upright pipe communicat- -ing with said circuitous passageway, a partition for dividing` the upright pipe into inlet and ontlet passageways communicating with said circuitous passageway, a burner in the inlet end of said circuitous. passageway, means for directly communicating the inner ends of said inlet and outlet passageways at a point -below the top of said burner, means for 'directly communicating said 'inlet and outlet passageways at a point above said burner, and means for opening and closing both of the last communicating means.

6. A tank 'heater comprising a heating element formed with a circuitous passageway through which products of combustion may be passed for heating purposes, upright conduit means communicating with said circuitous passageway to form ,inlet and outlet passageways communicatingmith said circuitous passageway, a burner in the inlet end oi' said circuitous passageway, means for directly communicating the inner ends of said inlet and outlet passageways at a point below the top of said burner, means -for directly communicating said inlet and outlet passageways at a point above said burner, and means for opening and closing both ofthe last communieating means.

WILLIAM R. HARTUNG. 

